Systems Thinking for agile service design
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The document discusses systems thinking in agile service design, emphasizing the importance of understanding systems' behaviors and relationships to improve processes. It highlights challenges like measuring 'soft value,' enabling timely information flow, and the complexities introduced by human involvement. Tools like the iceberg model and leverage points are suggested to navigate and analyze systems for better service design outcomes.
Systems Thinking for agile service design
- 1. Systems Thinking for agile service design Johanna Kollmann | @johannakoll | Agile Cambridge 2016
- 2. “A system is a set of elements or parts often classified as its function or purpose.” that is coherently organized and inter-connected in a pattern or structure that produces a characteristic set of behaviors, Donella Meadows
- 3. “Systems-based thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another. ! Then drawing on that knowledge to create efficiencies of process, infrastructure and communication.” Abby Covert
- 4. HARD systems SOFT systems ! You can’t “fix”problems with systems thinking, instead there are “situations you could improve”. Peter Checkland
- 5. Systems exhibit purposeful behaviour over time. Systems get ‘soft’, unpredictable once humans are involved.
- 7. Agile SERVICE DESIGN 😮
- 11. MODELING systems
- 12. Models are the starting point to look at the situation, and see what change should be introduced, and how.
- 13. Checkland’s ‘Rich Picture’ 1. Construction of the Humber Bridge (adapted from Stewart and Fortune, 1994)© The Open University 2. Distance Learning Situation © Wood-Harper et al, Information Systems Definition: The Multiview Approach, Blackwell Scientific Publications 1985
- 15. Journey maps
- 18. Measuring tools (combined with qualitative research!)
- 19. Service design challenges: 😮 Human actors who are employees? 😮 How do you measure “soft value”?
- 20. 3 things to pay attention to in a system: 1) Stocks & Flows 2) Feedback loops 3) Delays
- 21. 1)Stocks & Flows inflow outflow information feedback, control stock Conversion, churn rates
- 22. 2)Feedback loops A feedback loop occurs when a change in something ultimately comes back to cause a further change in the same thing. Reinforcing Loop (positive loop) births/year population Population Growth Balancing Loop (negative or goal-seeking loop) heat Thermostat temperature target temperature temperature gap Viral engines of growth
- 25. 3)Delays inventory days Reacting slower Data informs iterations
- 26. Service design challenges: 😮 Getting data can take a long time
- 27. Look at systems behaviour over time, rather than focusing on single events. ! Spot trends, and ask: ‣What came before? ‣What might happen next?
- 28. By the time you see what is going on in a system, it has already happened - and you are already a step behind.
- 31. Use this tool to help you think more systemically! THE ICEBERG MODEL EVENTS What is happening? PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR What trends are there over time? SYSTEMS STRUCTURE How are the parts related? What influences the patterns? MENTAL MODELS What values, assumptions, + beliefs shape the system? IncreasingLeverage Download at: http://donellameadows.org/systems-thinking-resources/
- 32. Donella Meadows’leverage points 10. Numbers (subsidies, taxes, standards). 9. Material stocks and flows. 8. Delays 7. Balancing negative feedback loops. 6. Reinforcing positive feedback loops. 5. Information flows.
- 33. Donella Meadows’leverage points 10. Numbers (subsidies, taxes, standards). 9. Material stocks and flows. 8. Delays 7. Balancing negative feedback loops. 6. Reinforcing positive feedback loops. 5. Information flows.
- 34. For reference: Donella Meadows, http://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/ Structure of information flows ‣How does information flow through the system? ‣What information is shown, how, and to whom? ‣Who can manipulate and control information?
- 35. Service design challenges: 😮 Enabling timely information flow can be tricky
- 36. Donella Meadows’leverage points 10. Numbers (subsidies, taxes, standards). 9. Material stocks and flows. 8. Delays 7. Balancing negative feedback loops. 6. Reinforcing positive feedback loops. 5. Information flows. 4. The rules of the system (incentives, punishment, constraints).
- 37. For reference: Donella Meadows, http://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/ Rules of the system ‣Constraints, social rules, rules about roles of actors in the system ‣Who can take which actions? ‣How can actors in the system engage?
- 39. Donella Meadows’leverage points 10. Numbers (subsidies, taxes, standards). 9. Material stocks and flows. 8. Delays 7. Balancing negative feedback loops. 6. Reinforcing positive feedback loops. 5. Information flows. 4. The rules of the system (incentives, punishment, constraints). 3. The power of self-organization. 2. The goals of the system. 1. The mindset or paradigm out of which the goals, rules, feedback structure arise.
- 40. Use this tool to help you think more systemically! THE ICEBERG MODEL EVENTS What is happening? PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR What trends are there over time? SYSTEMS STRUCTURE How are the parts related? What influences the patterns? MENTAL MODELS What values, assumptions, + beliefs shape the system? IncreasingLeverage Download at: http://donellameadows.org/systems-thinking-resources/
- 42. Matthew Milan “The fundamental shift design will need to navigate over the next decade: Going from designing for people to designing with people at scale.”
- 43. Design as Participation |Kevin Slavin http://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/design-as-participation Cynefin Framework|Dave Snowden http://cognitive-edge.com/ Donella Meadows Institute http://donellameadows.org/systems-thinking-resources/ Ask me anything: @johannakoll